THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 
53 
the Museum it was assigned to the department of ethnology, 
where it appropriately belonged and where it has ever since 
been installed in one of the large exhibition halls devoted to 
the subject of North American Indians.® 
MISCELLANEOUS 
In his report for 1847, the assistant secretary of the Institu- 
tion in charge of the library made the following suggestions : 
“Another subject contemplated in the programme of organi- 
zation, and which should receive immediate attention, is the 
procuring of copies of some of the most celebrated works of art . 
It will probably be best to confine the purchases at first princi- 
pally to plaster casts of some of the finest specimens of ancient 
and modern statuary. These can be procured very cheap, and 
convey, of course, a perfect representation of the original. I 
have no doubt that for a public institution, and one under na- 
tional auspices, we could, whenever we desire it, obtain per- 
mission to take casts directly from the statues. 
“The expense of doing so would of course be somewhat 
greater than that of purchasing such copies as might be found in 
the market, but a small difference in expense is not to be 
thought of in such a case. It would further be desirable to 
commence the purchase of the models of antiquities, such as 
models in cork of some of the houses, temples, theatres, baths, 
&c., &c., in Pompeii and Herculaneum. These can be procured 
at comparatively small prices. Models of every interesting part 
of Pompeii which has been excavated, presenting in miniature 
a perfect view of nearly the whole on the scale of 1 foot to 150, 
might be procured for about $2,000. It might also be well to 
procure a few Etruscan vases; also a few antique coins and 
medals, sufficient to convey some illustration of numismatics, 
as a subsidiary branch of history. The Regents should of 
course decide what proportion of the appropriation for collec- 
tions should each year be expended for these purposes. I will 
merely remark that $1,000, or even $500 at the outset, pru- 
dently expended, would procure a very interesting collection.” 
a For a complete history and description of the collection, see The George 
Catlin Indian Gallery, By Thomas Donaldson, pp. 939, with 144 plates. 
Appendix to the Report of the United States National Museum for 1885. 
